Budget 2020: Girl enrollment ratio in education surpasses boys; FM hails Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme

In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Centre's "Beti Bachao Beto Padhao" scheme has yielded tremendous results.

She said that gross enrollment ratio of girls at all levels of education across the country is higher than that for boys.

Speaking of the women and children-centric measures under the 'Caring Society' head of her budget, FM Sitharaman cited data on gross enrollment ratio of boys and girls at the elementary, secondary and higher secondary levels.

At the elementary level, the finance minister said that gross enrollment ratio for girls stood at 94.32 percent. Meanwhile, at the secondary level, enrollment ratio for girls was at 81.32 percent as against 78 percent for boys at the same level.

At the higher secondary level, ratio of enrollment for girls was 59.70 percent as opposed to 57.54 percent for boys.

She also announced that Rs 28,600 crore have been allocated for women-centric programmes in FY21 under the current budget.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22, 2015 at Panipat, Haryana. The scheme aims at addressing the declining child sex ratio and related issues of women empowerment over a life-cycle continuum. It is a tri-ministerial effort of the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare and Human Resource Development.